The PlayStation 5 has tons of exciting games on the way, from Horizon Forbidden West to God of War: Ragnarok, but the console is carried by more than big names like these. It has a ton of compelling indie games on the way too, like Sifu, the new martial arts brawler from Sloclap. Sifu has had a recurring presence in Sony's PlayStation marketing, getting trailers at a few different online conferences, and it has already developed a following. Martial arts games aren't as prevalent in the game industry as they used to be, but Sifu's fluid combat and environmental adaptation make many optimistic that it'll reinvigorate the genre.
Thanks to a new gameplay trailer from Sloclap, fans have even more cause to be optimistic about Sifu. Sloclap has delivered a detailed breakdown on how the game's combat operates. It's all about chaining blocks and parries with opportunistic, creative attacks, resulting in an intricate combat system that rewards quick thinking, creativity, and practice. Sifu's compelling combat concept is a good sign for the game itself, but it also means a lot for its genre. If Sifu's combat is as fun as it looks, then the odds of other studios imitating Sloclap's latest project will only get higher.
Sifu's Combat Mechanics Explained
Sifu offers players a broad variety of both offensive and defensive skills in battle. The protagonist, a student of Pak-Mei Kung-Fu, is highly mobile even in the heat of battle, and players are encouraged to use their character's dexterity to keep themselves safe. Players can block and parry blows to create openings before striking back, but dodging is a valuable skill too; in Sifu, players can duck or jump to evade incoming attacks, and they can vault over various parts of Sifu's environment to reposition, too. Once players get to where they want to be in battle, they can strike back.
As one might expect out of a martial arts brawler, there are a lot of ways to attack. Sifu features a highly detailed combo system where various patterns of light and heavy attacks can stun, knock down, or throw back enemies. As Sifu's trailers suggested, players can also improvise weapons out of the environment. While there's obvious potential weapons like bats and glass bottles to be had, players can also interact with the environment more broadly to attack; the combat trailer shows the Sifu protagonist kicking a chair at an enemy as a makeshift projectile. In a pinch, the player can also use Focus to execute a powerful technique at the cost of stored energy. All of these combat options come packaged in a minimalist HUD for maximum immersion.
Sifu's Ideas Deserve Imitators
While it remains to be seen if Sifu's system works as well as advertised, it's extremely compelling on paper. Its combination of skillful close combat, high-stakes action, realistic kung fu techniques, and player incentives to learn make for a game concept that's hard to compare to anything else on the market. With that in mind, hopefully Sifu isn't alone in the martial arts brawler genre for long. It's often said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and Sloclap's design definitely ought to be imitated. If Sifu can offer so much as an indie title, then AAA studios can certainly come up with something equally exciting in the same genre.
It'll be interesting to see how much of a splash Sifu makes when it finally arrives on the PS5. It certainly has a lot of remarkable competitors on Sony's next-gen console, but Sifu might be unique enough to make a name for itself. Fans eager to play the game will be excited to hear that the wait is shorter than expected; Sloclap plans to release Sifu in early February instead of late February. With an increasingly exciting combat system and a fast approaching release date in store, things are looking up for Sifu.
Sifu releases on February 8, 2022 for PC, PS4, and PS5.